EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.
1. #BUDGET 2013: Predictably, most of this morning’s newspapers are dominated by coverage of Wednesday’s Budget – with the Sunday Times leading on news that Labour has ‘caved’ on its plans for an increased Universal Social Charge on high earners. Instead, the coalition parties are said to have agreed on increasing a ‘mansion tax’ – a higher property tax on homes worth over €1 million.
The Sunday Business Post says the horse-trading over the Budget will continue right up until Wednesday. The Sunday Independent, meanwhile, quotes Ruairí Quinn as telling Labour TDs that the party’s ministers have little faith in the capability of health minister James Reilly, who will bear the brunt of Wednesday’s spending cuts.
2. #ABORTION: A major opinion poll in this morning’s Sunday Business Post reveals general public support for introducing legislation to permit abortion under some circumstances – but some incoherence about the action they want. 82 per cent want a constitutional amendment to expand the X criteria to include rape – and 85 per cent want legislation for the exact X terms – but 62 per cent of people want a constitutional amendment to remove the threat of suicide as grounds for an abortion, despite similar proposals having been defeated twice in the last 20 years.
3. #OPINION POLL: The SBP’s opinion poll also includes new details on party support, and suggests the abortion debate has taken an impact on Fine Gael. The largest party’s support has fallen six points, to 28 per cent, with minor gains for Labour and Fianna Fail and a surge in support for independents and other parties.
4. #STABBING: Two teenagers remain in Garda custody for questioning this morning over a stabbing incident that left one German man dead and another seriously injured. The two were arrested yesterday afternoon after the incident in Rialto early on Saturday morning.
5. #SCRAPPED: A 15-year-long project to redevelop the O’Devaney Gardens apartment complex on Dublin’s North Circular Road – considered a byword for bad planning and anti-social behaviour – has been scrapped. Councillors have been told there simply isn’t the money to proceed with the redevelopment, even though many residents had already been moved to temporary accommodation ahead of the rebuilding.
6. #PRIVILEGE: Independent TD Clare Daly will likely reignite debate about the use of Dáil privilege this week – by intending to name public figures who have had their penalty points ‘deleted’ by senior Gardaí. Newspapers reported earlier this week that some celebrity names’ points had been wiped away by superintendents, as is legally permissible – and the Sunday Times says Daly intends to name them, using her parliamentary privilege.
7. #JAPAN: At least five people have died after a tunnel collapsed over a busy traffic tunnel outside Tokyo, causing a major fire. Kyodo News said two cars were crushed in the tunnel, with the five fatalities having been trapped in a burning vehicle.
8. #AFGHANISTAN: A US-Afghan base in eastern Afghanistan has been targeted by a series of suicide bombers, killing one Afghan security officer. The BBC said at least eight suicide bombers had detonated explosives at the base in Jalalabad.
9. #DANDY: One of the world’s best-known comics will be printing its last issue on Tuesday. The Dandy – the legendary home of Desperate Dan and friends – will publish its last print issue this coming Tuesday, the Independent on Sunday says, with the comic going digital-only from then on.
Just click Like.
Comments (12 Comments)